Jakarta. The US is pivoting to Indonesian minerals, according to a senior official, as Washington works to loosen China's grip on its supplies.

Speaking in a virtual press briefing, US Senior Official to APEC Casey Mace described Jakarta as a “really important economic partner” to Washington, including in its pursuit of new critical mineral sources. 

“It’s an important priority that the US develops critical mineral supply chains that aren’t dependent on one country. Many of our partners share that same goal,” Mace said, without naming Beijing.

Mace believes that the Indonesia-US reciprocal trade deal — inked in February — could open up access to Jakarta’s critical minerals.

The document is still waiting for ratification or the formal legal approval to make the terms binding. The agreement, which caught bad rep among economists for being heavily one-sided, calls on Indonesia to lift its restrictions on US-bound critical mineral exports. It expects Jakarta to widen access for American investments in this field.

“We have signed like 40 different MoUs [memoranda of understanding] with countries … to work on the critical mineral supply chain,” Mace said, listing the Quad framework with Japan, India, and Australia as an example.

"We believe Indonesia can be an important partner for us on this. We would like to formalize some of this partnership."

Southeast Asia’s biggest economy has long stopped exporting raw nickel ore in favor of domestic processing, a core economic strategy introduced by former Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s rule. The Prabowo Subianto administration has expressed intent to keep similar bans, including on copper, intact. Both minerals are key in defense applications and advanced technologies.

While Indonesia is home to substantial mineral reserves, Chinese investors have a chokehold on the country's refineries.

Mace’s comments came not long after US President Donald Trump ordered tighter curbs for American defense contractors to secure Chinese materials.

The US has also established Pax Silica, a network of countries that aim to secure global technology supply chains, which analysts see as Washington’s attempt to single out China. 

Chief negotiator Airlangga Hartarto had recently told reporters that the ratification of the US trade deal could take place within this year, as Jakarta awaits the results of separate probes that can result in new Trump tariffs. He signaled that there would be some “amendments” to the February document afterwards.

Mace is in the Chinese coastal city of Dalian to meet his APEC counterparts. The $57 trillion bloc, which unites the rivalring China and the US, aim to advance free trade. Most ASEAN members, like Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

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